I'm used to it
by UnifiedNations
Summary: Kiku has a tough life at both school and home, and nobody cares. He's used to it. Until he meets an odd stranger who seems to care... why would he? /Future pairings and violence/
1. Chapter 1

"Yo, short-ass!" Kiku didn't bother looking up as he was 'called', feeling the large shadow of an American loom over him. "Oi! I'm talking to you, midget!"

Kiku sighed, still staring down at his lunch in his lap. He sat alone at the edge of the lunch hall, often just on a chair as all tables were taken by groups of people.

"Yes, and I'm not listening." He replied quietly, continuing eating.

"Ooh, trying to be a smartass are you?" Alfred sneered from above him. "Lets see how smart you are now!" He turned, grabbing a bottle of juice from behind him and dumping the contents onto Kiku's head.

Laughter erupted from most of the lunch hall as Kiku inwardly sighed, his hair now sticky and dripping wet and his lunch ruined. Alfred roared with laughter and swaggered off, his 'posse' following him. Matthew, Alfred's twin brother, shot him an apologetic look before following him.

Kiku stood, dumping his ruined food into the bin before walking out of the lunch hall, following his usual route to the back of the sports hall and sitting down, grabbing a few tissues out of his bag and drying his hair as well he could. He tossed the tissues into a small bag he used for rubbish in his school bag and leaned uncomfortably against the rough brick wall, closing his eyes. Sighing, he shifted his shoulders and attempted to force his stiff muscles to relax.

Several hours- it was probably minutes, he didn't know or care- something soft rubbed against his hand and he heard a small "Nya?"

His eyes snapped open and he looked to his side, gazing straight into the wide eyes of a ginger kitten. A smile sprang onto his face, something he hadn't done in ages. He petted the kitten gently, smiling as it purred and nuzzled his hand. The kitten was thin and looked like a stray- it's fur was slightly dirty and matted. Kiku frowned slightly, then dug into his bag with his free hand and brought out the second, tiny packet of sushi he'd bought from the convenience store that morning. He opened it and placed it in front of the kitten, who tilted it's head in an adorable manner. It sniffed the food slightly, then began to eagerly eat, purring as Kiku rubbed it's head.

"Ah... such a cute neko... I wish I could take you home..." Kiku murmured. The kitten looked up at him for a second and mewed, then went back to eating. Kiku smiled ruefully at it then stared at the sky, closing his eyes again. "Gomenasai, kitty, but I have to go now..." the kitten made a small sound of protest and attempted to scramble onto his lap. He smiled but lifted it off of his leg, crouching by the tiny kitten. "I'll come back here tomorrow with some more food for you kitty." The kitten stared up at him, then seemed to nod. Kiku smiles again and stood, bidding goodbye to the cat before leaving, just before the bell went.

Kiku sat in his history class, tapping his pencil on the desk and boredly watching the clock as the hands slowly ticked towards 3. He constantly felt small paper balls being thrown at the back of his head, learning from experience not to retaliate. It didn't help that the history lesson that day was on the second world war, mainly focusing on America and Japan. Wonderful.

Kiku's eyes slowly slid half-shut as he lost complete interest in the subject. He knew all of it already. He barely noticed when his cheek began to slide off of his palm... until his head jerked forward and he shot up, blinking furiously.

As soon as the bell went off, Kiku shot out of his seat, grabbed his bag and got out of his classroom a fast as he could. He practically ran to his locker, ripping it open and piling several books into it, then locking it and trying to speedwalk out of the school. He got out of the front door- before his arm was grabbed and he was yanked behind the building.

"So, short-ass, where did'ja go at lunch, huh?" The American squared his shoulders as he stood before the Japanese.

"And I thought you wanted rid of me." Kiku replied shortly, wanting to be out of there as soon as possible.

"Aww, did you feel unwanted? Thats funny... cos you are." Alfred placed a hand on Kiku's shoulder and shoved him against the brick wall. Kiku didn't even flinch- he was too used to it. "Ugh, you're so boring these days... lets liven you up, shall we?" They smaller boy couldn't even blink before Alfred punched him, hard, in the stomach. Kiku gasped from pain and doubled over, before Alfred shoved him to the floor. "See you tomorrow."

Kiku spluttered slightly as Alfred and his background crew left, coughing quietly and struggling to breath. He heard a quiet meow and looked to his side groggily, seeing the little kitten looking worriedly up at him. He smiled weakly and petted it again, wincing slightly. "I'm okay, neko-chan... I'm used to this." He then wished the kitten goodbye again and staggered upwards and away from the school.

Kiku staggered to the small forest between his home and the school, placing his hands on the bark of a particular tree and climbing up it, wincing as he moved his chest. He reached his usual spot in the tree- a branch high enough not to be seen, but low enough to jump down from and not be hurt.

Kiku sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back against the rough bark of the tree. There were no sounds from the city, no signs that it was even there... it was so peaceful...

A tiny meow broke the silence and he looked up to see the ginger kitten from earlier on the branch in front of him. It looked different- the kitten's fur was clean and brushed. It wandered over to the tired boy and nuzzled his leg, then it turned and leapt from the tree, landing on the ground and scampering off. Kiku, curious of what had distracted it, followed, landing on the ground with a groan as he jarred his bruised ribs. He staggered up again and followed the tiny trail the kitten had left.

He suddenly heard talking from the clearing up ahead, and hid behind a thin tree. He peered around the tree, and his eyes shot open.

In the centre of the clearing, there was a boy- around his age, but taller and slightly tanned. He had several cats around him... Kiku counted five... six, seven... twelve cats? He heard the boy murmuring to the cats in a different language, it sounded like... Kiku slid to the ground, feeling immediately tired by the other boy's soft speaking.

He snapped alert when he suddenly realised the talking had stopped. He peered around the tree again, to find the boy was lying on the ground... fast asleep. He smiled very slightly, as the cats piled on top of him.

Kiku suddenly had a thought. What if the boy caught a cold, sleeping out in the open? He began to slowly walk forward and when he got close enough, crouched by the boy's side. He gently touched his shoulder- and was met by startling green eyes. Kiku flushed red and leapt to his feet, speeding off as fast as he could, leaving the boy to slowly stare after him.

Kiku opened the front door to his home quietly and edged inside, closing the door with a soft click. He crept through the hall and almost reached the stairs-

"Why are you late."

Kiku froze and turned slowly, to see his father leaning against the doorframe with a bottle in his hands.

"Gomenasai, but it took me a while to get home." He apologised with a monotonous voice and a blank face.

"I told you to be home early, do you even know what that means?" The older man snarled, advancing on the boy. Kiku didn't blink and didn't reply. "I said do you even know?" He yelled, raising his hand and smacking Kiku across the face. After silence followed for a few seconds, before he snarled at him again, "Go upstairs. I don't want to see you for the rest of the evening."

Kiku turned and advanced upstairs, feeling his cheek start to swell already. He collapsed onto his futon, curling up into a ball and nuzzling his good cheek into the pillow, not bothering to hold back the small tears beading in his eyes.

"Okaa-san... wa naze anata wa watashi no mamadeshita …?" He whispered against the pillow, hating the feeling of tears running down his cheeks. He shivered, not bothering to change out of his school clothes before falling asleep.

**A/N; Yay, another new one~ so yeah, I just thought of this before attempting to go to sleep... guess whose being all insomniac -_-**

**SO yeah, yet again, Kiku has a crappy life. I am actually evil to my favourite characters... will it get better? Hmm who knows :3 **

**I actually felt really sad while writing this xD hopefully now I'll be able to SLEEP. (What is this creation o.o)**

**Translation: Okaa-san... wa naze anata wa watashi no mamadeshita...? = Mother... why did you leave me?**

**Sorry if the translation is wrong Google translate is a little wafty sometimes ^^**

**Reviews are love~ and hugs... and cake... **


	2. Chapter 2

Kiku's brown eyes fluttered open and he quietly groaned, feeling his chest ache and his cheek throb. He slowly heaved himself up, wincing as he stood unsteadily, and made his was to the bathroom, leaning on the sink and staring at his face in the mirror. His cheek had gotten less swollen over the night, now the swelling was barely noticeable. However, his cheek was now tinged pinkish-red, and slowly getting darker. Kiku sighed, reaching into the cabinet and retrieving a small bottle of make-up, carefully spreading it equally onto his cheek carefully to conceal the growing bruise.

After he had finished, Kiku replaced the small bottle back into the cabinet and quickly washing his hair, before retrieving his school bag from his room and leaving the house as fast as he could.

Kiku sighed as he walked along a deserted street, his mind wandering to various different things. There was no-one else out that early- well, there were a few elderly dog walkers, but that was about it.

"Nya?" He jumped when he heard the familiar sound, and looked down to see the kitten looking even happier than it had the day before. He smiled.

"Konnichiwa neko-chan... hm?" He scratched the cat under the chin and it swatted playfully at his sleeve. He chuckled lightly, wincing as he smiled, stretching his bruised cheek. "Ah, I'm sorry neko-chan. I haven't got any food today..." He apologised, half expecting the kitten to stick it's nose up at him and run off. Instead, the cat purred, rubbing against one of his legs. He smiled ruefully and stood. "I'll go get us some food." He murmured, making his way to the nearest convenience store and checking his money.

Around five minutes later, he sat with the tiny kitten outside the shop, sharing a small tray of ready-made sushi with the kitten in comfortable silence. He looked at his watch and sighed, getting up slightly painfully and stretching. "Sorry neko, I have to go now. I'll see you later." He smiled when the kitten mewed at him, then ran off.

"Now now everyone, settle down." The teacher called, around half the students stopping talking and lazily looking towards the front. "Now, we have a new student in the class! I'd like you all to welcome, and be extremely nice to, Heracles Karpusi." She gestured towards the door.

'Oh great, another one to join Alfred.' Kiku thought to himself, tempted to face-desk.

There was silence for several seconds, before the new student all-but-stumbled into the room. Kiku glanced up at him- and froze in his tracks.

"Hi... I'm Heracles Karpusi... and I'm from Greece..." He said slowly, as though constantly thinking over what he was going to say and taking his time. Half of the girls in the class swooned slightly at the well-built, tanned teenager- but Kiku was more interested in his eyes.

They were the same bright green eyes as the boy he'd encountered in the forest. He was slouched over slightly, as if he was constantly tired.

"Right Heracles, how about we sit you next to..."

'Not next to me not next to me not next to me' Kiku begged in his head.

"Hmm... next to Kiku!" The teacher said cheerfully, gesturing to the only free seat. Kiku facedesked.

Heracles slowly made his way to his new seat and sat down, glancing at Kiku before looking at the front.

"Right, todays topic is..." Kiku immediately zoned out of whatever the teacher was droning on about now. He stared forward and into space for several minutes, before glancing to his side-

To see the new student fast asleep on the desk.

Kiku blinked at him. He'd seen students eat, talk and throw things- mostly at his head- but never fall asleep. He hesitantly reached over and poked the boy, earning a small snort from him. He quickly drew his hand back and 'focused' (stared blankly) at the front of the class again.

It was only a matter of seconds before he felt the small paper balls being thrown at him again. He ignored it as usual. Then, a particularly large one happened to land on the Greek boy instead. He startled awake and looked around blearily, to see more paper being thrown at Kiku's head. He turned to Alfred.

"Thats... not very nice..." He murmured. Kiku froze- did someone just stick up for him?

"So?" Alfred replied, rolling up some more paper. Heracles frowned at him and turned to Kiku, who was staring ahead, still in slight shock that someone wasn't laughing.

"Does this... happen a lot?" He said quietly, just loud enough to catch Kiku's attention.

"Every day. I'm used to it." He replied, not looking at the green eyes he'd first seen the day before. They stayed focused on him for several more seconds before trailing off.

Kiku swallowed the lump in his throat he hadn't realised was there. Those eyes felt so piercing, and so... catlike?

Kiku shook his head to be rid of the thoughts- and the paper balls that were still flying at him- the number had lessened since Heracles had spoken.

Maybe the new kid wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Neko-chan?" Kiku said quietly, walking round the edge of the sports hall again as quietly as he could, hoping he wouldn't find Alfred laying in wait for him. He heard a soft 'nyan' a few paces away and smiled, looking forward to seeing the kitten again. He turned the corner- and almost gasped.

Heracles was sitting by the wall with the cat in his lap, running a small brush through it's fur. The cat was purring happily, and when it saw Kiku it's ears perked up, then it jumped from the boy's lap and bounded over to him. Heracles' gaze followed.

"So... you're the one... thats been feeding him?" He murmured slowly, watching the kitten try to crawl up Kiku's trouser leg.

'Him? Ah, so the kittens male...' Kiku thought, before replying. "Y-yes... is he yours?" He asked shyly.

"No... I just found him... the other day..." He smiled slightly at the Japanese boy. "It was nice of you to... feed him..." He said quietly, still smiling.

Kiku blushed slightly. It was the first time someone had smiled non-mockingly at him for... he couldn't remember how long.

"I-It was nothing." He mumbled, fiddling with his cuff before picking the kitten up.

The Greek boy looked at him for a few seconds before shifting over. "You can sit... you know..." Kiku turned even pinker- this by wanted him to sit near him? That'd certainly never happened before. He hesitantly walked forward and sat behind him, removing his jacket and placing the kitten onto it.

"Why did... that boy throw... things at you earlier?" Heracles murmured, leaning back against the brick wall. It was several seconds before Kiku answered.

"He... doesn't really like me very much." He said simply. He felt Heracles glance at him questioningly, but not saying anything.

"So... don't you have... many friends?" He said, reaching over to pet the cat. He saw that Kiku noticeably flinched when he neared him, so he moved his hand away.

Kiku looked down, his expression downcast. "... No." He replied shortly. Several minutes of silence followed this.

"I'd... like to be your friend." Kiku's eyes widened and his head shot up to see if Heracles' face was sincere- jarring his slightly bruised neck in the process.

"R-Really?" He replied, surprised. "Because... if you're my friend, no-one else will want to be friends with you..." He said softly. He desperately wanted friends, but he didn't want to be abandoned. Not again.

"I don't mind..." Came the sleepy reply, followed by a yawn. "You seem nicer... than the others... especially that American."

Kiku smiled downwards, facing the kitten. This... this could maybe work.

**N/A No Kiku bashing in this chapter (take away paper balls) and a new character is introduced x3 the cat from before probably gave it away...**

**So yay, yesterday I got Final Fantasy 13 :D I'll be balancing my time between playing that, writing this (and several other fics) and making my friend's cosplay, since we have 2 weeks before the convention she's wearing it for xD we're being Rin and Miku from Rin's Fear Garden, and one of my other friends is a two severed hands *¬* I may be able to write some more of this soon, I hope so x3**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey... Kiku...?" Kiku glanced to his side at his Greek friend, who was looking at him lazily.

"Yes, Hera-kun?" He replied quietly, eyes now on his worksheet.

"What are you... getting your mum... for mothers day?" The tanned boy asked. Kiku visibly froze.

"I... I usually make her something..." He replied slightly shakily. He could feel Heracles' unsure stare directed at his head. "H-How about you?" He said quickly.

"I'm not sure... maybe something with cats on..." He said quietly. Kiku smiled slightly.

"Would you like to come with me to see my mother on Sunday?" He asked, putting down his pen and flexing his hand.

"Are you sure?" Kiku nodded. "I'd love to..." The two boys smiled at eachother before returning to their work. (Kiku did anyway, Heracles probably fell asleep.)

Heracles leaned against a lamppost with a kitten clinging to his shirt and another attached to his curly hair. He and Kiku had agreed to meet there the other day, and he was slightly nervous to meet Kiku's mother.

"Heracles-san!" He heard his name being called and he turned, being careful not to knock the cats off of himself. Kiku was half-jogging towards him, holding a small box in his hands. "I-I'm sorry that I'm late, I-"

"Its okay Kiku... come on, lets go." He motioned for Kiku to lead the way. His heart sank slightly- what if Kiku was taking him to a hospital? What if his mother was ill? He'd feel so insensitive if that was the case-

"We're here." Kiku said quietly, making Heracles snap out of his thoughts and look up. His heart plummeted somewhere near his liver.

They were standing by the gate of a cemetery.

Heracles' throat suddenly went dry, he couldn't talk. He just stumbled after Kiku, past the numerous gravestones, until the smaller boy came to a halt, in front of a small but grand grave. Kiku flashed a small, sad smile at him and knelt before the grave, placing the small box he had on the small stone block, before placing his hands together and closing his eyes, his lips moving very slightly in silent prayer.

In the few silent seconds that followed, Heracles stood silently behind him, trying not to obviously stare at the gravestone. In the centre, near the top of the tall stone, there was a slightly worn photo of a woman with black hair and kind looking eyes. It struck the Greek that she looked a lot like Kiku.

Of course, he should have guessed. Why would Kiku have wanted Heracles to see his mother with him... it wouldn't have made any sense.

It was several minutes before Kiku gave a low bow to the gravestone, before standing up and turning to his friend, wiping his eyes slightly before smiling.

"I apologise for the wait, Heracles-san. Shall we leave?" He said softly, very well disguising the lump in his throat. Heracles nodded silently and gestured for Kiku to go ahead, which he did. They walked for several silent minutes, before Kiku spoke up.

"S-so, are you doing anything for your mother today?" he asked shyly, tugging at his long sleeves.

Heracles looked at his feet awkwardly. "Umm... I just did..." When Kiku raised an eyebrow at him, he murmured "I... offered a prayer, along with you..."

Kiku's eyes widened. "So... you mother is also-?"

"Yes." Heracles replied shortly, turning his head to the side and looking into space. There was a few seconds silence before Kiku spoke.

"I'm sorry." Heracles turned back to him and offered a weak smile.

"So am I."

"Now, our 'thought for the day*' today is, of course, mothers day!" The teacher said with obviously false cheeriness, as the students stared at her. "What did you all do for your mums yesterday?"

A few very bored students mumbled about getting presents and making breakfast or something, and Kiku and Heracles glanced at eachother. Kiku got back to doodling an anime character on a piece of scrap paper, then the obnoxious American's voice reached his ears.

"I mean, I already made her breakfast, what else does she want? God my moms so annoying!" Kiku automatically clenched his hands into fists, staring down at his desk and trying to mask his anger. How _could_ that stupid boy say that about his own mother? "I mean, if she's that unhappy with me, why doesn't she just go die-"

Alfred was abruptly cut off and every student turned as Kiku suddenly stood and turned, punching Alfred in the face and sending him flying backwards off of his chair. Kiku glared at him for several seconds before grabbing his bag and storming out of the classroom.

A few shocked seconds passed as Arthur and the second blonde one... Matthew? Helped Alfred up. He stumbled slightly before righting himself and rubbing his cheek, glaring at the doorway Kiku had left through.

"The hell is his problem?" He yelled. Heracles stood and looked him in the eye.

"You never know how much you love something until you lose it." He said shortly, staring into the American's blue eyes for another few seconds before turning and following Kiku. The entire class watched him leave in a stunned silence.

Kiku sighed as he leant back in the tree, the bark rough against his blazer. He closed his eyes and lost himself in his thoughts- of memories of his mother, showing him this particular tree when he was very small.

"_Now you see Kiku, this is my favourite tree. Shall I tell you why?" Four year-old Kiku nodded eagerly, clinging to his mother's hand. "Because ever since we moved here, since just before you were born, I've had a feeling that this tree is special. What I think," she kneeled down so she was Kiku's height and looked into his wide brown eyes. "I think that this tree is watching over us." She smiled as little Kiku's mouth formed an 'O' and he looked up at the tree with wonder. "Lets thank it, shall we?" The tiny boy nodded and bowed so deeply he almost fell over._

"_A-Arigato goz... gozai..." He stumbled over his pronunciation as his mother knelt next to him and said the word with him._

"_'Gozaimasu.'" The little boy smiled widely and nodded. "For watching over us." She finished, looking up into the tree's branches and seeing the small charms she had placed there when her son was a baby._

_A few silent seconds passed as Kiku stared up into the branches, before he felt hands around his waist and he was pulled onto his mother's lap, squealing with laughter that she soon joined in with._

"_Now now, are you two having fun without me?" They heard a voice behind them and saw Kiku's father coming towards them with a smile on his face._

"_Chichi!" Kiku cried happily, reaching up with his small arms. His father laughed and swept him up, spinning him round one before settling the boy onto his hip, and gently pulling his wife to her feet, then pulling her in to join the hug._

"_Right, shall we get going? Dinners going to get cold!" He said cheerily, smiling when his family cheered._

Kiku sighed. He missed those days so, so much... the days when he was happy, when his father was happy- when he wasn't constantly covered in bruises from head to foot.

He was so caught up in his memories that he didn't register the noises of someone coming towards him.

"You'll... catch a cold... if you sleep... like that..." He jolted into reality and looked down, almost falling out of the tree.

"You can talk." He retorted calmly, though inside his heart was aching. Heracles smiled ruefully up at him.

"Mind if I... join you?" Kiku shook his head, shifting over slightly so the tree could accommodate them both. It took several seconds for Heracles to climb up- just like a cat, he noticed.

There was a silence between the two for several seconds before they both spoke at once.

"I'm sorry for how I acted-"

"I'm sorry I didn't do anything-"

They both stopped talking at the same time, then simultaneously laughed.

"Alfred... is a total ass. He... deserved that." Heracles murmured, leaning his head gently on Kiku's shoulder. Kiku instantly stiffened, not daring to move. He really wasn't used to human contact- the memory he had recovered several minutes ago was one of his final instances, before his mother had succumbed to illness, and had passed away several years later. Kiku had become shy and introverted after that, and a good target for bullies like Alfred.

"Nyaa!" A tiny noise broke both of them out of the silence and they looked up, seeing the small ginger kitten that had brought them together. They both smiled as it ran towards them along a long tree branch, jumping onto Heracles' lap, then crawling over so it was half on Heracles' lap, half on Kiku's. They smiled at it.

Kiku's smile then faded to be replaced with an almost neutral face.

"... You'll get into trouble. For skipping, I mean." Kiku said. Heracles raised an eyebrow at him.

"So will you." Kiku chuckled slightly.

"For me it doesn't matter. Won't your father be angry?" He asked, worried for his friend. Heracles shook his head.

"My dads a bastard. He left my mum when I was two and I haven't seen him since." Seeing Kiku's questioning look, he carried on. "I live by myself. Its not so bad, except I'm only allowed three cats in my flat."

Kiku smiled slightly. Living alone... that didn't sound too bad. He was sure his father would have something to say though- who else would do all the cleaning?

They sat there for another few hours, barely talking but content with it. When Kiku checked his watch and realised it was around an hour after school had finished, he panicked inwardly and hurriedly suggested they leave.

"I-It'll be getting dark soon." He said, knowing full well it was summer and it would be hours until the sun went down. Heracles thankfully agreed and they climbed down from the tree. Kiku slipped near the bottom as his hands were shaking. He fall backwards, expecting to be met with the cold hard ground- but was instead caught in Heracles' arms.

Kiku blushed bright red and stuttered as Heracles set him onto the ground, then gestured for them to start walking, again in silence.

When they reached the road, Heracles stopped and Kiku almost ran into him. He jumped out of his skin and he felt arms wrap around him and he was pulled into a hug.

"I'll... see you later..." Heracles murmured against his hair. Kiku was frozen on the spot- he didn't know what to do. It had been years since someone had hugged him...

He slowly and shyly brought his arms up and around his only friend. The hug lasted for several seconds before they both broke it.

"S-See you later." Kiku stuttered before turning and practically running away. His face was bright red and he was shaking all over, the areas of his body (his shoulder and back) were slightly tingling from the unfamiliar contact- it was the first time in years that someone had touched him without intent to harm.

He reached his home in minutes and suddenly realised where he was. He checked his watch- surely he wasn't late again?

Kiku practically crept up to the front door, opening it quietly and heading to the stairs- before a small bottle flew past him and shattered on the wall near his head, then he was grabbed by the shoulders and forced up against the now damp wall.

"Where the fuck have you been?" His father snarled, pinning him to the wall with both hands, although his right had a whiskey bottle clutched in it.

"I was busy." He replied. His father released him and swung the bottle at him, but he instinctively ducked. That was a mistake.

"Busy? You fucking vanish from school for four hours and you say you were 'busy?" A fist was buried into Kiku's stomach and he doubled over, coughing before the whiskey bottle made contact with his head. He fell to the floor, black dots decorating his vision.

"By the time I get back, there'd better be no trace of you in this room." His father snarled, dropping the heavy glass bottle onto his shoulder- the one Heracles had leant on- and storming out of the house.

Kiku lay on the dark carpet, gasping for breath and blinking furiously to get his vision steady. After several minutes- maybe hours- he managed to pull himself up and lean against the wall, studying the yellowish stain starting to settle on the wall. He stumbled to the kitchen and grabbed some cleaning equipment, attempting to scrub the alcohol stains out of the wall and carpet.

After about half an hour both stains had near enough gone, so he replaced the equipment and staggered upstairs, on the verge of passing out and collapsing several times on the way. When he did get to his bedroom, he barely managed to push the door shut and glimpse the bed before landing on the floor with a thud and falling into unconsciousness.

**A/N Wahey, new chapter~ sorry its been a while, I've had a few things to do recently xD I'm soooo sorry if this chapter rambles on but I'm like... wheh... I dunno what the hells going on half the time xD**

**Five pages. Five fricking pages. Shows you how much of a life I have xD**

***thought for the day= basically, when I was at school every day we had a 'thought of the day' where there was a discussion on a subject, it was usually pretty boring.**

**Anonymous reviews: Spain Has Caaandy: we must have very great minds in that case xD**

**Please enjoy and review x3**


	4. Chapter 4

"_Chichi, where are we going?" Nine-year-old Kiku asked as he peered out of the taxi window._

"_We're going to see your mother in hospital Kiku. Now be quiet." His father replied monotonously. Kiku scrambled down from the window and sat obediently. _

_Over the past two years since Kiku's mum had been admitted to hospital, his father had grown cold and withdrawn, except for when he saw his wife. He'd developed constant bags under his eyes, and often looked completely unkempt. He'd stopped bothering to go to any parent-teacher evenings at Kiku's school- he'd stopped doing anything with Kiku, except for going to the hospital._

_Kiku's mother had been admitted to hospital one day before Kiku's seventh birthday, after she suddenly collapsed while making dinner. A pan of boiling water had been knocked off of the stove and had spilt onto her arm, so she had bad burns as well as her mystery illness._

_When she had collapsed only she and Kiku were home, so little Kiku had phoned the ambulance and stayed by his mother until it arrived. He'd burnt his hands on the water while trying to keep her awake so when the paramedics arrived, he was hauled off to hospital as well._

_Kiku's father arrived at the hospital an hour after getting the call, in time to find his son with his tiny hands wrapped in bandages and his wife in intensive care._

_When the taxi arrived at the hospital, Kiku eagerly clambered out of the car then waited for his father to pay the driver. He began fidgeting impatiently but knew better than to run off- he hated being scolded._

_The taxi drove off and Kiku's father strode towards the hospital, seemingly forgetting his young son was even there. Kiku followed him through the now-familiar corridors until they reached a particular room. The door was slightly ajar, until Kiku's father pushed it open and Kiku peered inside and saw a familiar face._

"_Kachan!" He cried, running full-pelt towards the third bed in, then jumping into the arms of the surprised occupant._

"_Kiku!" His mother laughed, bringing him close to her in a hug and smiling. "Its so good to see you two!"_

_Kiku's father smiled and came forward, placing a bundle of letters from friends and relatives on the bedside table and sitting on the nearby chair._

_The visit went on for several hours, as it always did, and by the time the visiting hours were ending, Kiku had curled up and fallen asleep in his mother's lap._

_That was one of Kiku's last memories of having a 'family'._

_**A/N yaaaay for updates :D Boo for mini flashback chapters xD**  
_

_**I'm so. So sorry it took so long T.T I typed this up ages ago, then told myself it was too long, then felt bad so updated anyway xD I'm having a tiddly bit of writers block but shouldn't be long till next chapter x3  
**_

_**Enjoy and review :D  
**_


	5. Chapter 5

Kiku woke up to a banging headache, a stiff shoulder and blood on the carpet from where his head had been.

He attempted to stand up, but failed and fell onto the floor with a groan as his now very bruised ribs and stomach came into contact with the ground. He managed to get a look at the time- it was three hours before school started, so he had time.

After about five minutes of pointless agonised shifting, he managed to roll onto his back and relieve his chest slightly. He lay there for several minutes, marvelling at this small victory, before finally managing to climb to his feet, using the wall for balance.

Kiku stumbled to the small bathroom and almost collapsed, but held himself up using the sink. He stared at his reflection and wondered how it had come to this. The happy, bright-eyed child had descended to this- a dead end, short and almost mute teenager with an abusive father.

The boy sighed and angled his head slightly so he could see the area that had been hit with the heavy glass whiskey bottle. A rather large lump, about half the size of a golf ball, had sprung up at the point of contact overnight. He sighed again and carefully covered it with his hair, not noticing it was slightly matted with blood.

The bruise on his cheek had partly faded and yellowed, so only needed a small amount of makeup to cover it. He didn't bother looking at the probably growing bruise on his chest as he got changed. No-one would see it, so why bother?

After several minutes of standing still and staring at the mirror, focusing on his dead eyes and subconsciously finding a way to breath without hurting every time, he went back to his bedroom and changed into his school uniform. Dressing himself was difficult- he couldn't move his shoulder as it had swollen overnight, so he had to do everything one-handed. Luckily for him, his uniform had padded shoulders and he had a shoulderbag, so no-one should notice that either.

After he left the silent house it was still very early, so there was no-one around to look at him or ask him why he was walking strangely.

He walked aimlessly for around 20 minutes before he heard a small noise and saw the kitten bounding towards him with a happy look on its face. Kiku couldn't help but smile.

"Konnichiwa Neko-chan..." He whispered, awkwardly crouching down and trying not to jar his shoulder or ribs.

"We really should... name him... don't you think?" A slow and sleepy voice made him jump and look up.

"H-Hera-san? What are you doing out this early?" He stuttered, almost falling backwards.

"I usually... come out this... early... its peaceful... and no dogs are out." The Greek offered a sleepy smile and reached a hand out to help Kiku up.

Kiku smiled in return and reached up to take the offered hand- forgetting that his shoulder was injured. He gave a sharp gasp and retracted his arm, before giving a pained smile and taking the offered hand with his non-injured arm.

Heracles frowned at Kiku's failed attempt to mask his pain and pulled his friend up, gesturing for them to keep walking. His eyes widened as he spotted the dried blood in Kiku's hair.

The two walked in silence- though it was not an uncomfortable one- for several hours, occasionally breaking into a quiet, calm conversation, then falling silent again. After a while Kiku suggested they began walking to school, and the other boy agreed.

Heracles kept a close watch on Kiku as they entered the school ground, looking for any unusual behaviour.

Kiku could practically feel the stares of other students as they walked through the gate. The news that he had punched Alfred in the face must have spread fast.

"What's our first lesso- ah!" Kiku yelped as Heracles grabbed his (thankfully) non-injured arm and began pulling him down a corridor. "H-Hera, this isn't the way to history-" Heracles suddenly stopped and Kiku almost ran into him.

"We can miss a lesson." The Grecian said, gently pulling him around so Kiku was in front of the door.

"Th-the nurses office? But why- are you hurt?" Worried brown eyes looked up at Heracles in concern.

"No. but you are." Heracles said shortly, opening the door and giving Kiku an almost pleading but stern look.

Kiku gave into the puppy-dog (more like kitty-cat, he thought,) eyes that his friend was giving him and stepped inside.

The nurse on duty at the desk looked up and smiled at the two boys. "Its a bit early isn't it, boys?"

Heracles nudged Kiku gently in the back until he took a step forward.

"My friend... is hurt..." He mumbled. Kiku glanced up at him.

"I am not..." He muttered even quieter than Heracles had.

The Greek silently huffed and slowly reached an arm around Kiku, and gently placed his hand on Kiku's shoulder. Said boy jumped and hissed in pain, jerking away from the arm and accidentally bumping into his friend.

The nurse looked on, silently imagining how cute the boys would be together, before blinking and looking pointedly at the two.

"Well, I think that's enough of an excuse for me to look at your shoulder. Sit down over here and take your top off." Kiku's face turned bright red and he spluttered.

'W-what?! Th-thats such an immodest request, and Heracles is here... they might see my scars..." he panicked inside his mind, drawing his blazer closer around himself.

"I-I'd rather not..." He mumbled, looking at the floor. Heracles rested his hand comfortingly on Kiku's uninjured shoulder.

"Go on. I won't look." He said encouragingly. Kiku barely nodded and sat near the nurse, glancing at Heracles, who then turned away.

The Japanese boy closed his eyes and clutched the lower part of his shirt as he felt the nurse undo the top few buttons, then gently slide a part of it down his shoulder. He opened his eyes slightly to see his shoulder joint purple and blue, and swollen to almost two or three times the normal size.

The nurse raised an eyebrow at him. "How on earth did you manage that?" She asked, sliding back on her wheeled chair the the small freezer, retrieving an ice pack, a gel ice pack and a roll of bandages.

"I... fell down the stairs." He muttered, looking away as she wheeled back over, pressing the ice pack to his shoulder and motioning to him to hold it in place. She raised both her eyebrows at that, then slid back to her desk and began scribbling on a piece of paper.

Kiku uneasily glanced to his side at Heracles, who had his head down and was standing by the wall.

"Hera-san, you can... you can turn now." He said quietly shuffling over on the bed he was sitting on. The other boy complied, silently walking over to sit beside him. He turned his head to look at Kiku's bowed head, and almost gasped when he saw the large, dark purple mark that was spread across Kiku's almost unnaturally thin chest, the mark just protruding about the shirt.. Kiku looked up so he quickly looked away, suddenly interested in the leaflet-covered wall.

They sat there in silence for almost an hour, when Heracles suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder and he looked down to see Kiku had fallen asleep on him. He smiled gently, then noticed Kiku's hand was slipping off of the ice pack so he reached over and grabbed it, holding it in place.

The nurse looked up to see them and smiled. "Can you lift the ice pack slightly for me?" she as quietly as she could, and Heracles nodded. He moved the pack slightly and she peered at Kiku's shoulder, noting that the swelling had died down so it was almost normal, but the large purple bruise remained. "You can wake him up if you like, you can both go to class-" she was interrupted by the bell ringing loudly. "Break-time. Have fun!"

Heracles gently nudged Kiku awake, who blinked blearily and looked at his shoulder with Heracles's arm around it then blushed. He went to do his shirt up, then was stopped by the nurse's hand placing the cold gel ice pack on his shoulder and binding it with the bandages. Kiku blushed at the contact, still half asleep, and hurriedly tried to do his shirt up, then blushed even more, almost turning purple, when Heracles nudged his hand aside and assisted him.

After Kiku quietly thanked the nurse and Heracles nodded at her, they exited the office and set off to their place behind the hall. The small kitten was waiting for them, seemingly pacing up and down in worry. It soon noticed them and bounded towards the two boys happily. They smiled simultaneously at the small animal and sat down, Kiku bringing out the sushi he bought earlier and giving some to the kitten, who mewed happily.

After Kiku and the kitten finished all the sushi, Heracles pushed his lunch box onto Kiku's lap, making him look down.

"You... can have the rest..." he mumbled, closing his eyes to lean against the wall.

"H-Hera-san, I can't take this, this is yours-"

"Why are you... calling me that?" Kiku blinked.

"H-Hera? I don't know..." He mumbled, suddenly feeling that he had offended his best friend in some way. There was silence for several seconds before the Grecian spoke.

"I like it... you should use it... more often..." he turned his head to the surprised looking Japanese, who smiled shyly. "You should... do that too..."

"OI, BASTARDS!" They heard a loud shout from around the corner and both turned, Kiku immediately covering the kitten from view. Alfred stomped towards them with a massive bruise on his face and several people behind him, two of them looking like they wanted to drag Alfred away. "YOU STUPID FUCKING KID! HOW DARE YOU HIT ME?! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR IT." Alfred's large fist practically flew towards Kiku's face, who barely moved, preparing himself for the blow. He looked up slightly when it didn't come. His eyes widened and he looked up properly.

Heracles had caught Alfred's wrist mid-air, and was squeezing it so hard that the American's hand was turning odd colours.

"If you dare... touch Kiku..." Heracles yanked Alfred forward, who yelped, fear in his voice. "I will rip your arm off... and feed it to my cats." He gave the wrist one final squeeze then let go. Alfred stumbled backwards clutching his wrist, and looking shocked.

"Y-you... you're gonna regret that!" He stuttered, before turning and grabbing a box from Arthur's bag, ignoring the British boy's protests and ripping the lid off, before flinging the contents over the two boys and the hidden cat.

Kiku reacted fast, ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder and throwing his blazer over Heracles, moving the kitten onto his lap and closing his eyes, being practically covered with rice. Alfred laughed his large, obnoxious laugh and sauntered off, Matthew shooting an even more apologetic glance at Kiku before hurrying off.

Heracles gently pushed off the blazer that was covering him and looked over at Kiku. His head was down and his eyes downcast, and he was shivering slightly, covered in rice. Heracles's face creased in pity and he put an arm around Kiku, pulling him closer into a hug. Kiku leant into his friend, one of his hands coming up to grab Heracles's blazer.

"Kiku..." Heracles whispered into the boy's hair. "Why do you... put up with this?" Kiku shook his head and pressed harder into Heracles's chest, shaking more profusely, but Heracles could tell he wasn't crying. He was trying desperately hard not to.

'Don't worry Kiku... I'll help you. Somehow...' He thought, burying his face into Kiku's hair and holding him close.

"... Yuujou..." Heracles looked at the smaller boy in surprise. "I think... we should call him Yuujou." He raised the kitten slightly, who mewed happily, whereas a few seconds ago he had been leaning on Kiku's chest trying to lick his face.

Heracles smiled. Kiku had been teaching him a little Japanese and he immediately knew what the name meant.

Friendship.

**A/N Proper update, yay :D I feel so mean- for what I'm doing to Kiku and making everyone wait so long xD **Bows** Please forgive me T.T**

**I will give you all a tiny hint. Something biiiiig will happen next chapter ;D woop woop~ evilness. **

**No anonymous reviews this time, so until next time (which should be soon) farewell :D**

**Enjoy and review x3**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Right, I shall now apologise properly and sophisticatedly.**

****Throws self on floor** OHMYGOD, I AM SO SO SORRY. I'VE BEEN COMPLETELY NEGLECTING MY FANFICTIONS BECAUSE I CHANGED MY COLLEGE COURSE AND **ahem** sorry, I changed my college course so I've had a tonne of catch-up work and have had to make cosplays and do this and that and get distracted by Avengers and daym I love Iron Man and Loki and ANYWAY. I really hope none of you have given up on me or this fic or any others I write as I promise I'm gonna try to make it up to all of you!**

**My sincerest (or as close as I can get to sincerity) apologies for the... uh... 4 month long wait ^^' I swear on what little of my soul is left that I will do my best to update frequently until this series is finished! Which probably won't be long now! Anyway, time to get on :D**

**(Oh and before I forget, this chapter is rather sad. And by rather, I mean it almost made me cry writing part of it. And that is VERY hard to do. Trust me. I cry to no Disney films.)**

_~Flash*back~_

_'I wonder where chichi is..." Nine year-old Kiku thought, placing two plates on the table and going to the front room. His father was three hours late- he hoped he hadn't been our drinking again. Last time he'd shouted at Kiku so much he'd hidden in the cupboard in his room for the rest of the night. He sighed and sat back in the kitchen, drumming his fingers on the table and biting his lip. _

_They hadn't gone to see Kiku's mother in a while- the last time had been at least two weeks ago. Kiku had been given no explanation as to why, but he was determined to see her again soon, even if he had to get to the hospital himself._

_He was jolted out of his thoughts by the front door slamming shut and some mumbled cursing as someone collided with the shoe rack. Kiku bit his lip and shrank back in his chair as his father stumbled in, a clear glass bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other._

"_Ch-Chichi, wh-when will we be visiting kachan again?" He asked quietly, crossing and uncrossing his legs nervously._

_The man at the table didn't reply for several seconds, before his gaze travelled drunkenly to Kiku's young face. "...Wha'?"_

"_I-I said, when-"_

"_I know what you said, brat." Kiku visibly flinched as his father stood, towering over him by at least a foot. "You wanna ask again?"_

_Kiku slid off his chair and cowered back, eyes darting towards the door. "N-no, I-I'm sorry chichi-"_

"_Shut do you know, kid?! You don't know ANYTHING!" He shouted the last word so loudly Kiku was sure he felt the cabinets and floor tremble under him._

"_I'm s-sorry, I-"_

"_I said SHUT UP!" His father roared, bringing up the hand holding the smouldering cigarette- now almost complete ash- and back-handing the twelve-year-old across the face, leaving a small burn make near his ear._

_Kiku's head smacking into one of the cabinets behind him and he whimpered, eyes filling with tears. The man supposed to be his father glared at him and turned, swaying almost dangerously, before lurching out of the room, the front door slamming behind him._

_Kiku sat where he had landed, staring at the nothingness opposite him. His cheek hurt, burned, but he could barely feel it. His __**father**__, the man supposed to love and care for him, had just hit him. _

_The horrible thought brought Kiku to his senses. His chest ached and he felt as if his heart was cracking. There was only one place he wanted to go._

_The child far too small for his age climbed unsteadily to his feet, cradling his red cheek in one hand before heading to the back door. He made sure his father's car was gone before venturing outside, leaving the door slightly open so he could get back in. Then he started running._

_He ran for longer than he thought was humanly possible, through more streets than he could count and barely noticing how cold the winter air was on his bare arms. _

_When he finally reached the hospital, he dashed inside, ignoring the shouts of surprise from visitors, patients and staff alike and running as fast as he could towards his mother's room. He finally slowed to a stop outside, panting for breath and wincing as air scraped his raw throat, swallowing a few times to rid himself of the pain. The small boy then opened the door and peeked inside._

_White curtains were drawn up around his mother's bed, with two doctors standing nearby. Kiku snuck forward quietly, catching a few words like "hasn't got long left," and "such a shame, did you see her son?" but dismissing them as he ducked under the curtain to the bed._

_His mother looked almost exactly the same as to when she was first admitted- black hair laying neatly around her head like a halo, porcelain skin partly covered by a clear oxygen mask and colourful wires gathered around her. _

_Kiku climbed onto the bed next to her and placed his small hand on her arm, where there were no wires or tubes connected._

"_Kachan? Kachan, it's Kiku. I've come to visit by myself this time. Chichi... he's... he's not feeling very well. So it's just me." He winced and touched his cheek slightly, then sat himself by her arm, reaching a hand over to stroke her cheek. "Don't worry though, I'll come visit you all the time by myself now I know the way! I ran all the way here. I'm not tired tho-" He yawned widely. "Okay, maybe I am a little. But I can keep you company anyway!" He announced and wriggled down underneath the blanket beside his mother. He managed to shift one of her arms and lay between it and her body, which was colder than he was. "Kachan, you're cold! That's not good. I'll just..." he broke off with another yawn. "I'll just stay here for a while..." He closed his eyes and let unconsciousness overcome him._

_Seconds before the heart moniter stopped beeping, long, pale fingers wrapped themselves around smaller ones and a tired smile made it's way onto Sakura Honda's face._

Kiku sighed to himself as he walked along the pavement, kicking a stray can out of his path as Yuujou pattered quietly beside him. The tiny kitten that had brought him and his best friend together had grown into a teenage cat, but was adorable none the less.

Heracles had had to go home early that day, as his landlady had called in and said one of his cats was ill. Kiku hadn't even known the Greek boy could move that fast before witnessing him almost bolting from the class, before running back and saying goodbye to Kiku and apologising that he had to leave, then speeding out again.

Kiku had never realised how lonely the walk home really was. Even with Yuujou, the lack of the presence of the tall, tanned Greek boy made the empty space in Kiku's heart larger.

Kiku wasn't at all sure about his feelings towards Heracles; whether they were purely friendly or... something more. Heracles hadn't hinted towards anything else with the boy, or if he had, the boy in question hadn't noticed it.

Now he thought about it though, a 'relationship' with Heracles didn't sound that bad. The other teenager was kind, quiet, and actually cared about him instead of-

Wait a minute.

'A relationship wouldn't be that bad'?

Kiku shook his head, breath caught in his throat. Why on earth was he thinking of such things? Of course Heracles wouldn't be interested; he was tall, handsome, popular with the girls in the school-

_**Handsome?!**_

Okay, Kiku really needed to clear his head. He could only pray that his so-called 'father' wasn't in that night.

**A/N And there we are again~ sorry to cut it off at such a terrible point, but my mind has gone all misty xDD gah that flashback made me so sad T.T and yes, this story will be Giripan. But furthest they'll go is cute kissing. I mean, who can't say no?**

**Now to make everyone possibly slightly sadder I most likely won't be writing many Hetalia fanfictions after finishing the ones I've left on... hiatus, as I believe it's put? **

**BUT.**

**If anyone requests a fanfiction with a storyline I'll gladly write it for them! But, I don't write smut. Fluff and kissing is fine, but no smut. I think I beat Romano's tomato blush last time I tried.**

**So yeah, if anyone has a storyline in mind then let me know and I'll gladly write them something!**

**And honestly, reviews really do help me update faster my fanfictions with less reviews get less attention as I feel like no-one's really enjoying them, and I shouldn't really neglect them but I get distracted far too easily xDD so yeah, review pretty please with kitties and rainbows and cosplay on top and around dancing to Gangnam style~**

**Not quite sure where that came from...**

**And to all (if any) of those who actually read my ridiculous author notes, well done! Have a cookie.**


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